Some trivia: The photographer who shoots the still photos for The Colbert Show and other CBS productions is John Filo. He's best known for his iconic picture of the Kent State massacre, taken in 1970 when he was a senior at the university. He won a Pulitzer Prize the next year. We worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer in the 80s.
Norm: I looked you up and see that you've had a great career! Thank you for your shows! So fun to see how many talented and creative people are hanging about this sub stack.
Thanks so much, Mary. It’s nice to be among such inspiring and talented writers (such as yourself) who are teaching me a whole other approach to story. Thank goodness for George.
Wasn't there a feature article about her that possibly John wrote or was included in that appeared a few years ago, I'm guessing for the 50th anniversary & in a major paper or magazine? I remember the piece but can't place the source. I have a very clear memory of that awful day. Absolutely chilling.
The Washington Post Magazine in April 2021, I believe.
I remember John telling the story about how he stashed the roll of film in a wheel well of his VW and drove over the state border to PA where he developed the film in the darkroom of the weekly newspaper where he worked. The photo went out on the AP wires that evening and the rest is history.
Thanks. I knew I'd read it. I'm in DC so, of course it was the Post. I grew up in Pgh, not that far from Kent State where some of my high school classmates were headed if it wasn't to Vietnam. Scary, scary time.
Oh man, this is just about the best post from the road yet...honestly...this feels like frames from the Frederick Wiseman film (in my imagination) about George in his various work environments (his classroom, his publisher's offices, the Green Room). Like I posted last night, the Colbert visit felt like quicksilver--I'll admit I missed the funny bonus skit (the song, or the charming bedtime reading with Colbert in his PJs)--but it was such a nice capper on the marvelous tour. And it's wonderful to see a photo of the hard-working Random House support staff--these are the people who really have the author's back. And, wow, to see LIBERATION DAY propped up on the Random shelf in front of LEE CHILD'S BOOK!! Sweet...
Still...I would say that the true capper to this tour has to be the extraordinary interview that George conducted with Ezra Klein on the NYT Ezra Klein Show podcast. I think that Klein sounds by the end of this one like this may be the best one he's done at his new NYT perch. It's truly a podcast for the ages--and released on Election Day. Extra sweet...
I agree, Lee and Sallie. I forwarded it to several friends. I do think Colbert was tearful at the end in an unrehearsed way. I wonder if George heard something "new" in the reading, even though he wrote it, just the way a sentence was delivered, a pause, you know? And...wouldn't it be cool to have actors read our shorter pieces back to us? I actually did that once with something I was working on, I had an actor pal of mine read it to me, not a cold read, but she had it for a while to rehearse. It was illuminating. I made several changes after.
George! Not that you've missed me, but I've been busy writing during my Post MFA program at Bennington, so I haven't weighed in here for several months. Tonight, though, I opened the latest Story Club email in my inbox, and I loved seeing you just now on Stephen Colbert! I love Stephen Colbert, I love you, I love your spirit, and I love your generosity. Oh—and thank you for reminding me that a story about two dogs fucking is a story about two dogs fucking.
Awwww, George, this made me a bit teary! You express so much joy in being in this world and in witnessing it. What a wonderful soul you are. Thank you for sharing this. Hope class went well with your brilliant third-years!
Thank you for the link to the reading, I am going to watch it now. My son and I had finished watching your interview on the DVR about two seconds before I received this email. I think we will be giving each other your book for Christmas. I am getting ready to take a break from my day job to write and paint. I feel the stars aligning. There's this novel somewhere, or maybe a book of haiku. It's all fine.
Must be nice to be back at Syracuse. I have not been back in many years, seems once they built the new stadium, I went to a football game there. Previously, we would sit up on laboratory counters in the Heroy Geology Building and watch the games out the windows looking down into the old Archibald Stadium. No one was allowed in the Library on Saturday afternoon game times because the view was better and it was easier to patrol the Library. W e just turned on the radio to hear the play by play. I think I heard it is time for a new Stadium My real question is where is this statute of Lincoln on the campus. i used to walk, bicycle or bus down from the married student housing over near the Drumlins Golf Course, but I don't recall meeting Lincoln en route. I recall all the black squirrels (a local variant of gray squirrels). I once saw a fox before he saw me out hunting in an old quarry south of campus. The fox did not see me until he was within a few feet, he was very surprised and curious. After a good looking and sniffing, he wandered away. I miss the days of hunting here in the Hudson Valley, getting too old and can not possibly shoot when a deer dashes right up to me to see who I am. So I just set the trail cameras in the back yard and watch my videos of deer, turkeys, racoons thanking me for all the pears, he ate off of my pear tree. We have bears, but have not caught one in my yard. The best is watching the bambis bouncing around in the backyard with their mother watching carefully. SO WHERE IS LINCOLN ON CAMPUS? Reminds me of Samuel Morse statute over on the other side of the Hudson River south of Locus Tree Inn (RT 9 south of Poughkeepsie).
What a lovely snapshot of a post, Katherine. The statue is between the Tolley Humanities Building and Maxwell. And if you are looking up at the Hall of Languages, Tolley is one building to the right. I read once that there is at least one other version (or copy, or casting) of this statue…I think in New Jersey. There was some thought that this was supposed to represent Lincoln young, after the loss of his first love, Ann Rutledge, maybe? I’ll check on this though…
I've been getting your substack newsletter for about a month and have been learning more about you and your writing. I saw Stephen Colbert announce that you would be one of his guests last night but I couldn't stay up to see you .... so thanks SO much for the youtube video of his interview of you!!! It was great to see you live!!! (BTW I'm a Canadian living in Toronto.)
Mr. Saunders, I join the crowd of Story Clubbers and others who thank you deeply for your gracious and caring work with us, for your writing and teaching, and for inspiring so many. I've listened with pleasure to your recent offerings on the Ezra Klein podcast, Colbert, and Symphony Space. Here's a tiny tidbit that inspired me in the Love Story's "family" sense.
Your writer asks his grandson "What would you have had me do?" "To have" is a wonderfully flexible verb. I come from a family of fourteen siblings. My mother was a bit of a wordsmith (she wrote Sunday crosswords for the N.Y.T.) and when asked why she had so many children, she'd answer with my favourite twist on "to have." She'd say "Which ones would you have had me not have had?" I never knew if there should have been two "had(s)" in there. Still don't.
Every now and then, Colbert has someone on that he clearly wants to impress. He gets so serious. He acts like that when he has you on the show, George. He really likes you! But you always have something to say to disarm him. You're a great guest.
at the event the other night in Los Angeles, George and Nick Offerman were chatting about the three-way bromance between George, Jeff Tweedy and Offerman. Apparently, they have an ongoing text thread that they all contribute to all of the time. And of course, they hang out together, etc. It's the real deal--real friendship. At one point, Offerman mentioned that Stephen Colbert really wants to make it a four-some. And you know, I could feel that during the interview between Colbert and George. As you say, he clearly admires George, and also just plain likes him very much.
George, thank you for sharing your experiences from the road - truly a treat! I've been a StoryClubber from the start (Dec 2021) - having admired your writing for a long time it felt like the right thing to do to sign up and what a lovely journey it has been! As we are coming close to a year of learning here, yesterday's bonus post from you felt like such a gift as you wind down from the book tour. I bought 'Liberation Day' on Audible and was going to start it soon, so watched the link you posted with Stephen Colbert reading it and it was all so beautiful to watch/hear. There is so much in the story that could be about the current zeitgeist that is moving and true. I love how you capture moral arcs and inflections in your own stories and in the stories you've selected for us in this past year. I keep going back to the recent Munoz story too - it is amazing how a story can grip and take hold. Also, as a San Francisco bay area native who lives close enough to those locations, loved all the local references to Aptos/Watsonville/Monterey/Point Lobos. :) Thank you for an amazing year of learning and community!
I keep going back and reading "Anyone Can Do It "too! There's such great tension in the story with not knowing exactly what Delfina is going to do. I realized after a third reading that she was perhaps planning to leave her husband and steal the car herself. This story made me realize the power of leaving readers with a mystery to unravel. Also loved the Monterey Peninsula references, especially Point Lobos.
What a delight on late night! The behind-the-scenes and vicarious experiences of your tour are their own kind of guided writing instruction and motivation. Thank you for sharing them with this much-larger classroom of us you now lead. I'm going to remember from this interview, especially, the idea of being open to change as a form of respect for the story as opposed to the condescension of carrying one's ideas too tightly.
Also... I, too, would have snagged one of those big, messy doughnuts for the hotel room, probably something I've never tried before. Thank you for the happy extra post. You were a great Colbert guest, and I bet you gained some new fans!
Yes, not holding ideas too tightly - being open to change - and not just writing what you set out to which would be just a lecture. Those points sank in farther this time. I'm at that point in my novel rewrites where I hope I have found clarity enough to push things up and solve the new problems on the - the next floor, take a turn around that ballroom. It's lot bigger effort with a novel though. But feeling a new atmosphere for these characters to breath - and live in - I have gotten past that sense of defeat and dead weight of a flogged draft that's been bringing me down. Turning the problem around, as George advises and asking a question instead. Such a simple and powerful thing.
I know George must want to get back to his desk (and his lovely wife) but I’m feeling a little wistful that his book tour travels are coming to an end. It’s been a treat to be on location with him sharing in his experience,
As for today’s post, that’s quite the nice classroom— and kudos for trafficking doughnuts across the state of New York!!
Some trivia: The photographer who shoots the still photos for The Colbert Show and other CBS productions is John Filo. He's best known for his iconic picture of the Kent State massacre, taken in 1970 when he was a senior at the university. He won a Pulitzer Prize the next year. We worked at the Philadelphia Inquirer in the 80s.
John Filo is such a wonderful man. He covered my show for so many years for CBS and I had no idea how iconic he was/is. Until about three years ago.
Norm: I looked you up and see that you've had a great career! Thank you for your shows! So fun to see how many talented and creative people are hanging about this sub stack.
Thanks so much, Mary. It’s nice to be among such inspiring and talented writers (such as yourself) who are teaching me a whole other approach to story. Thank goodness for George.
He's the absolute best and a hell of a lot of fun, too!
well, i just found you online, too! And you seem to also be amazingly talented and accomplished!
Thank you! I plow on!
Girl over the shot student..imploring why?^^
Yes, it turned out she was a runaway. She and John corresponded for years.
Wasn't there a feature article about her that possibly John wrote or was included in that appeared a few years ago, I'm guessing for the 50th anniversary & in a major paper or magazine? I remember the piece but can't place the source. I have a very clear memory of that awful day. Absolutely chilling.
The Washington Post Magazine in April 2021, I believe.
I remember John telling the story about how he stashed the roll of film in a wheel well of his VW and drove over the state border to PA where he developed the film in the darkroom of the weekly newspaper where he worked. The photo went out on the AP wires that evening and the rest is history.
Thanks. I knew I'd read it. I'm in DC so, of course it was the Post. I grew up in Pgh, not that far from Kent State where some of my high school classmates were headed if it wasn't to Vietnam. Scary, scary time.
I recall seeing something about that, maybe on PBS Newshour. That’s a great story, the friendship.
Yes. Burned into my brain.
Very cool
Oh man, this is just about the best post from the road yet...honestly...this feels like frames from the Frederick Wiseman film (in my imagination) about George in his various work environments (his classroom, his publisher's offices, the Green Room). Like I posted last night, the Colbert visit felt like quicksilver--I'll admit I missed the funny bonus skit (the song, or the charming bedtime reading with Colbert in his PJs)--but it was such a nice capper on the marvelous tour. And it's wonderful to see a photo of the hard-working Random House support staff--these are the people who really have the author's back. And, wow, to see LIBERATION DAY propped up on the Random shelf in front of LEE CHILD'S BOOK!! Sweet...
Still...I would say that the true capper to this tour has to be the extraordinary interview that George conducted with Ezra Klein on the NYT Ezra Klein Show podcast. I think that Klein sounds by the end of this one like this may be the best one he's done at his new NYT perch. It's truly a podcast for the ages--and released on Election Day. Extra sweet...
Thank you for sharing about the podcast. I listened to it this morning, and it was great!
You’re welcome Melissa!
It was amazing.
Just listened to Colbert read "Love Letter." My god, what a performance. And what a . . .what a. . .
heart break. A good heart break. Don't get me wrong. Whew!
I agree, Lee and Sallie. I forwarded it to several friends. I do think Colbert was tearful at the end in an unrehearsed way. I wonder if George heard something "new" in the reading, even though he wrote it, just the way a sentence was delivered, a pause, you know? And...wouldn't it be cool to have actors read our shorter pieces back to us? I actually did that once with something I was working on, I had an actor pal of mine read it to me, not a cold read, but she had it for a while to rehearse. It was illuminating. I made several changes after.
I just listened to it as well. Very tender, heart felt performance. Colbert reads Saunders quite well.
It really is a wonderful performance. I so love hearing a skilled performer read a work of fiction, and this was especially affecting.
George! Not that you've missed me, but I've been busy writing during my Post MFA program at Bennington, so I haven't weighed in here for several months. Tonight, though, I opened the latest Story Club email in my inbox, and I loved seeing you just now on Stephen Colbert! I love Stephen Colbert, I love you, I love your spirit, and I love your generosity. Oh—and thank you for reminding me that a story about two dogs fucking is a story about two dogs fucking.
Awwww, George, this made me a bit teary! You express so much joy in being in this world and in witnessing it. What a wonderful soul you are. Thank you for sharing this. Hope class went well with your brilliant third-years!
Thank you for the link to the reading, I am going to watch it now. My son and I had finished watching your interview on the DVR about two seconds before I received this email. I think we will be giving each other your book for Christmas. I am getting ready to take a break from my day job to write and paint. I feel the stars aligning. There's this novel somewhere, or maybe a book of haiku. It's all fine.
Must be nice to be back at Syracuse. I have not been back in many years, seems once they built the new stadium, I went to a football game there. Previously, we would sit up on laboratory counters in the Heroy Geology Building and watch the games out the windows looking down into the old Archibald Stadium. No one was allowed in the Library on Saturday afternoon game times because the view was better and it was easier to patrol the Library. W e just turned on the radio to hear the play by play. I think I heard it is time for a new Stadium My real question is where is this statute of Lincoln on the campus. i used to walk, bicycle or bus down from the married student housing over near the Drumlins Golf Course, but I don't recall meeting Lincoln en route. I recall all the black squirrels (a local variant of gray squirrels). I once saw a fox before he saw me out hunting in an old quarry south of campus. The fox did not see me until he was within a few feet, he was very surprised and curious. After a good looking and sniffing, he wandered away. I miss the days of hunting here in the Hudson Valley, getting too old and can not possibly shoot when a deer dashes right up to me to see who I am. So I just set the trail cameras in the back yard and watch my videos of deer, turkeys, racoons thanking me for all the pears, he ate off of my pear tree. We have bears, but have not caught one in my yard. The best is watching the bambis bouncing around in the backyard with their mother watching carefully. SO WHERE IS LINCOLN ON CAMPUS? Reminds me of Samuel Morse statute over on the other side of the Hudson River south of Locus Tree Inn (RT 9 south of Poughkeepsie).
What a lovely snapshot of a post, Katherine. The statue is between the Tolley Humanities Building and Maxwell. And if you are looking up at the Hall of Languages, Tolley is one building to the right. I read once that there is at least one other version (or copy, or casting) of this statue…I think in New Jersey. There was some thought that this was supposed to represent Lincoln young, after the loss of his first love, Ann Rutledge, maybe? I’ll check on this though…
https://www.maxwell.syr.edu/news/article/a-different-lincoln
I've been getting your substack newsletter for about a month and have been learning more about you and your writing. I saw Stephen Colbert announce that you would be one of his guests last night but I couldn't stay up to see you .... so thanks SO much for the youtube video of his interview of you!!! It was great to see you live!!! (BTW I'm a Canadian living in Toronto.)
Mr. Saunders, I join the crowd of Story Clubbers and others who thank you deeply for your gracious and caring work with us, for your writing and teaching, and for inspiring so many. I've listened with pleasure to your recent offerings on the Ezra Klein podcast, Colbert, and Symphony Space. Here's a tiny tidbit that inspired me in the Love Story's "family" sense.
Your writer asks his grandson "What would you have had me do?" "To have" is a wonderfully flexible verb. I come from a family of fourteen siblings. My mother was a bit of a wordsmith (she wrote Sunday crosswords for the N.Y.T.) and when asked why she had so many children, she'd answer with my favourite twist on "to have." She'd say "Which ones would you have had me not have had?" I never knew if there should have been two "had(s)" in there. Still don't.
Just watched the Colbert interview. Loved that you acknowledged that the band played you on with a Miles Davis tune. :)
Every now and then, Colbert has someone on that he clearly wants to impress. He gets so serious. He acts like that when he has you on the show, George. He really likes you! But you always have something to say to disarm him. You're a great guest.
at the event the other night in Los Angeles, George and Nick Offerman were chatting about the three-way bromance between George, Jeff Tweedy and Offerman. Apparently, they have an ongoing text thread that they all contribute to all of the time. And of course, they hang out together, etc. It's the real deal--real friendship. At one point, Offerman mentioned that Stephen Colbert really wants to make it a four-some. And you know, I could feel that during the interview between Colbert and George. As you say, he clearly admires George, and also just plain likes him very much.
George, thank you for sharing your experiences from the road - truly a treat! I've been a StoryClubber from the start (Dec 2021) - having admired your writing for a long time it felt like the right thing to do to sign up and what a lovely journey it has been! As we are coming close to a year of learning here, yesterday's bonus post from you felt like such a gift as you wind down from the book tour. I bought 'Liberation Day' on Audible and was going to start it soon, so watched the link you posted with Stephen Colbert reading it and it was all so beautiful to watch/hear. There is so much in the story that could be about the current zeitgeist that is moving and true. I love how you capture moral arcs and inflections in your own stories and in the stories you've selected for us in this past year. I keep going back to the recent Munoz story too - it is amazing how a story can grip and take hold. Also, as a San Francisco bay area native who lives close enough to those locations, loved all the local references to Aptos/Watsonville/Monterey/Point Lobos. :) Thank you for an amazing year of learning and community!
I keep going back and reading "Anyone Can Do It "too! There's such great tension in the story with not knowing exactly what Delfina is going to do. I realized after a third reading that she was perhaps planning to leave her husband and steal the car herself. This story made me realize the power of leaving readers with a mystery to unravel. Also loved the Monterey Peninsula references, especially Point Lobos.
What a delight on late night! The behind-the-scenes and vicarious experiences of your tour are their own kind of guided writing instruction and motivation. Thank you for sharing them with this much-larger classroom of us you now lead. I'm going to remember from this interview, especially, the idea of being open to change as a form of respect for the story as opposed to the condescension of carrying one's ideas too tightly.
Also... I, too, would have snagged one of those big, messy doughnuts for the hotel room, probably something I've never tried before. Thank you for the happy extra post. You were a great Colbert guest, and I bet you gained some new fans!
Yes, not holding ideas too tightly - being open to change - and not just writing what you set out to which would be just a lecture. Those points sank in farther this time. I'm at that point in my novel rewrites where I hope I have found clarity enough to push things up and solve the new problems on the - the next floor, take a turn around that ballroom. It's lot bigger effort with a novel though. But feeling a new atmosphere for these characters to breath - and live in - I have gotten past that sense of defeat and dead weight of a flogged draft that's been bringing me down. Turning the problem around, as George advises and asking a question instead. Such a simple and powerful thing.
Best wishes for continued momentum and fresh perspectives on those novel rewrites, Jackie!
What a great reading of Love Letter. wow. wow. pulled it all out.
I've never seen that statue of Lincoln. I love him.
I know George must want to get back to his desk (and his lovely wife) but I’m feeling a little wistful that his book tour travels are coming to an end. It’s been a treat to be on location with him sharing in his experience,
As for today’s post, that’s quite the nice classroom— and kudos for trafficking doughnuts across the state of New York!!
What a wonderful Friday night treat! Thanks, George. I hope you get a little break to recharge. You deserve it.